Philips DVP642 box sorting

[Quantum]

Is there anyway to determine which hardware revision is in a box by the serial number or any other indicators on the box? I understand there are three different hardware revisions and only the "M" and "S" versions can be flashed backward from 1109. The "E" versions cannot.

A couple years ago you could sort the Apex AD-1500's by serial numbers to ensure you were buying ones that could be flashed via CD.

I searched the forums and google and couldn't find information on this.

[Ripper64]

Look for a label on the box,UPC label I believe.You will see the date written in small.Mine said 10/03/04 05 .Mine come from a big batch wal-mart had before christmas.That has to be the date.Mine had the good firmware 0531.

[Quantum]

I stopped by a Walmart last night and they had the DVP642 in both the white box and the bigger blue box. I bought one of the blue boxes. The manufacturer date was November 2004 and it has 1109 on it. It is a "M" hardware revision so it could be flashed back to 0531 (no analog macrovision). The flash was a success.

The picture via the component outs looks terrible compared to my XBOX. Output via S-video looks similar to my Apex AD-1500 which also uses an ESS video chip. I'm going to calibrate the DVP642 with AVIA and then decide if I am going to keep it or not. If I do, I'll buy Walmart's 1 year replacement plan for $5.82.